Posts Tagged ‘laundry’

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent!

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 by by JM Guest Blogger

I know, I know… Most of my posts involve children’s activities, but once in a while I will slip in some totally random posts, because that’s how I roll.

And you can actually use the following as a learning activity!! Think Measuring, mixing, following directions….

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

Yup, you read that correctly. I make my own laundry detergent. I started doing it a few months ago, and I doubt we will ever go back to using regular detergent. I got the idea from some friends of mine when we were discussing the little things we do to save money. And believe me, making your own detergent will save you a TON.

What you will need:

  • Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT Baking Soda!! They are different!)
  • Borax 20 Mule Team
  • Ivory Bar Soap or Fels Naptha Bar Soap (I use Ivory)
  • 1 cup measuring cup
  • Cheese Grater
  • Plastic Storage Container
  • Food processor or Blender (optional)

(more…)

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The Case of the Missing Underwear….

Sunday, November 21st, 2010 by by JM Guest Blogger

Today at school, Eric had an accident in his pants, so his teacher gave him a pair of underwear and pants to change into.

Later on in the evening, I told him it was time to get his pj’s on. He ran in my room and changed his clothes. When he was done, I asked him if he had put his clothes in the hamper. He told me he could only put his shirt in the hamper, because he had to return the pants and underwear to his teacher. I told him that we needed to wash the clothes first, so to go ahead and put it in the hamper with his shirt.

He ran to the room to put the clothes in the hamper, and a minute later, he came running out and yelled, “Mom, I can’t put the underwear in the hamper! They’re missing!”

I asked, “What do you mean they’re missing?”

He replied, “They’re gone.”

Then it dawned on me… I asked, “Are they still on your butt?”

He proceeded to look in his pajama pants and laughed. “Yeah, they’re on my butt!”

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Cloth Diaper Detergents- Tiny Bubbles

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 by by JM Guest Blogger

I have spent a lot of man hours since having my son trying to perfect my laundry routine.  Lord knows I have worked at the routine I have, which involves Tide and Dawn and lots and lots and lots of rinses.  I am a big fan of The Natural Baby Co, which many of you know if you read my blog!  They recently came out with a detergent meant for cloth diapers.  What this means, I hope, is a fool proof way to wash diapers.

Tiny Bubbles is the name, which I love, and it has been designed to work with Top Loader and Front Loader machines.  The reviews so far are amazing!  I can’t wait to get my hands on some and give it a try.  I know there are a few other companies (more…)

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Posted in Cloth Diapering, Product Reviews | 3 Comments »

The Miracle of Sun! On Cloth Diapers that is.

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 by by JM Guest Blogger

Up until this week I have never had a stain on any of my cloth diapers.  Then the unthinkable occurred!  I removed my diapers from the washer to put them in the dryer and I noticed 2 shells and one insert had horrible poopy stains on them.  Oh no!  I knew that sunning was supposed to be the cure for diaper stains, so I put the damp and stained items on the back patio.  I am on vacation so North Carolina has a lot better sunlight than New York.  I left to eat lunch with a friend and came back a few hours later.   This is what my diapers looked like when I left.  (I forgot to take a picture of one of the shells)

A Smartipants Microfiber insert and a Fuzzibunz shell

A Smartipants Microfiber insert and a Fuzzibunz shell

This is what I returned to!

(more…)

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Posted in Cloth Diapering | 1 Comment »

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Rainy weekends, red wine and laundry

Monday, June 29th, 2009 by by JM Guest Blogger

It’s a typical rainy winter weekend down here in the south pacific. Not particularly cold, but very very wet. Which, if you have someone great to spend it with, a good bottle of wine and some interesting reading material, is a very nice recipe to end a chaotic week with. (No, we haven’t had conversation yet. You’ll know when it happens, trust me.)

However, the rain only becomes a problem when you have loads of laundry to do, need to pack for a work trip, and have no dryer:

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No dryer? Don’t say it’s so! But it is. Alas, New Zealand is not known for the workhorse of a dryer that I grew up with in Canada and all of my North American readers enjoy. It’s not pretty, but it still makes my heart beat just a littler faster.

Sure, you can buy a dryer in New Zealand. But, it’s an electric one. Which basically means there’s one little gremlin churning your clothes in a circle and randomly thinking about blowing in the direction of the clothes. It’s hours days before your clothes (more…)

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